Roy leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, his thoughts drifting. Kieran had gone off to meet his sister again. Family stuff. Roy imagined for a moment what it would be like.
Naturally, his brain conjured the dumbest possible image.
A little girl. Pigtails. Same scowling face as Kieran.
"Hi, I'm Kieran's little sister," she said in his head, voice pitched unnaturally high but still carrying that grumpy, lecturing tone.
Roy snorted. Yeah, that tracks.
Then came the older sister. Not much different, just Kieran with longer hair, glaring down at him like she was about to assign homework.
Even though he saw her yesterday, he still imagined it as her.
"And I'm Kieran's big sister. Don't forget to drink responsibly, Kieran."
"God…" Roy muttered under his breath, covering his face with his hand. The image refused to leave.
It got worse.
Kieran's mom? Same face. Same resting scowl. Just in an apron.
"Eat your vegetables, or I'll lecture you about responsibility."
Kieran's dad? Exact copy again, except with a moustache and newspaper tucked under his arm.
"Son, I'm disappointed. Not angry. Just disappointed."
Roy groaned. "A whole family of Kierans… terrifying."